winter, 1997.
Hermione hadn't meant to find out about Remus's soulmate. She had needed something to focus on other than Ron's ridiculousness with Lavender, and when Harry told her about Remus spending time spying on the feral werewolves, she became a witch on a mission. It wasn't hard to hide the lycanthropy and magical theory books among her other piles of school books, and to be honest, she was learning more from her own independent studies this year anyway.
Hermione hoped that the Muggle theory of multiple dimensions of time really did exist, because in one of them, she herself was tirelessly devoted to education reform in the Wizarding world, with no Death Eaters or Voldemort to take up her time and energy. This, however, was not that dimension.
At first, Hermione had been irritated by how much the various books focused on the soulmate aspect. It felt like the whole romantic destiny thing had clouded everyone's judgment, even the academics. She spent a frustrated week flipping through every book, using the highlighting charm she'd devised to keep track of the most important passages without actually marking the books permanently. The marks were invisible to most other witches and wizards, and unless she cast the counterspell, her notations would remain in case she needed to refer back to them in future. This came in very handy when, after noting just how miserable Ron was after fighting with Lavender (and how uplifting that felt to watch, from her end), Hermione had a realization about werewolf soulmates.
She had been basing most of her research on the animal aspects of lycanthropy, all but ignoring the threads of humanity woven through the entire condition. Her omission made sense when looked at in context of werewolves like Fenrir Greyback, whose humanity probably lay in tattered shreds at the very back of his subconscious. Remus Lupin was as far from Fenrir as it was possible to be while remaining a werewolf, though. Given that both were formerly human, Hermione realized it was vital to take that into account. If she didn't, she would be treating werewolves the same way as she had treated House Elves-as though each individual was somehow incapable of distinguishing themselves from the group.
In an odd way, everything came back to Remus. In her frustration with Ron, Hermione had a moment of clarity. If she could be out of sorts simply because she had a Not Really a Thing with Ron, what must life be like for werewolves to not find their soulmates? Could wolf mates be something important in their very rarity? Surely Fenrir Greyback didn't have one, or if he did, something terrible must have happened to him or her? Did Remus have a mate, and if so, were they of this time and place?
Humbled, Hermione turned back to the texts she'd dismissed so easily before, reminding herself that for all her prowess in research and investigation, the authors were older and possibly wiser than she was. If so many chapters were taken up by it, werewolf soulmates must be something she should know about, even if it all turned out to be superstition and nonsense. She was surprised to find that, once she'd decided to look at the whole soulmate aspect of werewolves as genuine magical creature lore, a lot of what she had initially disregarded actually made sense.
She set up her lap desk in bed, curtains mostly drawn, surrounded by parchment piles and books. Hermione made notes as she read, grateful that it was Friday evening with nothing to do but attend a Quidditch match (and her studies, but they could wait, and it was just too bad that Harry didn't know what she was doing so he could faint dead away on hearing that sentiment cross her lips).
= The magic of werewolf soulmates is observed to be symbiotic in that it does not only benefit/affect the werewolf, but also their mate
= With very few soulmate pairs thought to exist (believed to be one per quarter century or fewer), the data is severely lacking
= Modern observations and historical accounts over the centuries have noted the following benefits reportedly displayed by werewolf soulmates:
+ Heightened sense of well-being and security
+ Accelerated healing abilities for both parties
+ Stories from historical sources claim possible mild telepathy such as nonverbal warnings of danger
+ Augmented magical talent in close physical proximity, see Potions Master note below
+ One quote in an actual textbook said "near perfect sexual compatibility" which is just pure nonsense
= One pair (the werewolf was a devoted diarist) was separated when the human mate died of old age. The female werewolf showed a substantial decrease in strength and magical ability
= An interesting corollary to this was a noted apothecary who rose to gain the title of Potions Master within a year of her discovering her mate and engaging in the werewolf soul bond
= Important: possibility of one or two other well respected experts in magic over the past centuries who managed to hide that they were soul bonded? Important untapped resource?
+ A werewolf can sense his or her mate via skin to skin touch, even when all other senses have been magically/non-magically muffled
+ Werewolves possess an extra attunement to the natural scents of sweat and hormones that ordinary humans aren't capable of sensing.
+ A werewolf's soulmate has a magical quality to them that only the werewolf can recognize via scent and touch
= A dampening effect after the use of the Wolfsbane potion was observed in a few rare cases able to be studied by the author of Hairy Snout, Human Heart, Bardalf Amarog, as noted in the twenty year anniversary re-release of the book in 1995
+ Amarog postulated that the potion alters a werewolf's magical animal attunement that rises in potency around the full moon, essentially 'scrambling' it into useless noise not unlike typical human perception (or lack thereof)
+ Werewolves suffer from human typical 'scrambling' during the weeks between the full moon cycle
+ A werewolf's soulmate is the only living being capable of breaking through their insensibility to the world while fully transformed
+ Prior to the Wolfsbane potion this special ability was essentially the only way other than restraints to control a werewolf on the full moon
+ A werewolf could be mid-kill and still be drawn inexorably away to follow the call of their soulmate
= Too much to hope that Fenrir has a soulmate? Yes, too much to hope, Hermione
= Some observations by Amarog have suggested that the Wolfsbane potion can dull the effects of the soul bond on the werewolf
+ This has led to speculation that the theory of soul bonding being directly related to the wolf aspect of the affliction is correct, but further study is required
+ The fact that no new soul bonded pairs have been reported since the emergence of Wolfsbane (despite advances in magical technology that have improved news sharing) seems to further reinforce this hypothesis
Hermione set down her quill to examine her notes so far. There was nothing about the genesis of the bond itself, which was equal parts frustrating and seemingly typical of the study of magic. "If it works, why question it?" appeared to be the way magical mysteries were treated, to such a ridiculous extent that people like Arthur Weasley were looked on as completely daft simply for wanting to know how everything ticked.
As for soulmates, the concept felt just as muddy as Professor Trelawney's tea leaves were, but certain core characteristics were becoming clear to her. Far from a fanciful romantic conceit, the soul bond thing was well documented and seemed to carry a great, albeit rare, advantage. In practical terms, though, Hermione wasn't sure there was much she could use to help Lupin. She couldn't guess whether or not he'd done his own research-her gut said yes-but Hermione felt she was good at relaying information with a healthy dose of academic distance. She was confident she'd be able to write or speak to Remus about what she'd learned with her research in a way that passed on what was helpful without being awkward.
Hermione reached for her 'Possibly Helpful' list and laid it beside her soulmate information sheet, ready to copy over anything she thought could help Remus. Most of it was obscure stuff that she wasn't entirely sure would be well received ('Folklore states that the reason werewolves keep from the Forbidden Forest and other areas near Hogwarts is due to a certain herb accidentally invented by a former Herbology professor in the 18th century. Wolfswart is said to induce a hay fever-like reaction in werewolves in human form, and was once carried by anxious witches and wizards as a good luck charm to repel them, particularly in that area of Scotland. Beware symptoms of hay fever in that area if trying to keep a low profile, just in case.'), but she wanted to help. She'd always liked Lupin as a professor, and her fleeting crush on him had been a source of embarrassment for her until she'd gotten a chance to see him as a member of the Order. She had decided afterwards that he was the very best sort of person, and Merlin knew she'd felt affection for less worthy professors.
In a way, her self-appointed mission was a sort of atonement for that full moon night in her Third Year. Everything had gone so wrong-Ron's broken leg, attacking Professor Snape, Lupin's transformation. Using the Time Turner had been the cheapest as well as the best way out of that mess, and even then, she'd nearly gotten them all killed not once, but twice, once Remus had transformed.
Hermione pushed down the familiar feeling of regret. She could still see the moment so clearly in her memory, with Remus and Sirius locked together in that half-aggressive embrace as both realized the full moon was rising behind them. Professor Snape standing in front of Hermione and her friends, arms outstretched, terrified until the sound of a distant howl cut through the tension.
Hermione gasped. Hands trembling, she lifted the parchment with her outline about soulmates, her eyes scanning through her notes and comments until they lit on the line she was looking for.
'A werewolf's soulmate is the only living being capable of breaking through their insensibility to the world while fully transformed'
She shook her head slowly. That particular moment in time had been a fluke, a call to infuriate the werewolf, to draw him toward different prey. There was no point in ascribing hidden meanings to that chaotic moment in her life. The problem was, Hermione was accustomed to playing devil's advocate in her own head, and this moment was no different. You always did wonder why that worked, she reminded herself. There was plenty of prey right in front of him, and three of them children! Why run towards the unknown?
Hermione shut her eyes and turned back to the outline, certain there would be a logical rebuttal written there somewhere. The alternative was completely ludicrous.
'Some observations by Amarog have suggested that the Wolfsbane potion can dull the effects of the soul bond on the werewolf'
'Amarog postulated that the potion alters a werewolf's magical animal attunement that rises in potency around the full moon, essentially 'scrambling' it into useless noise not unlike typical human perception (or lack thereof)'
"I choose to believe that this interpretation is… deeply flawed," Hermione said aloud, rubbing her forehead, her eyes pinched shut.
"I'm glad we could have this talk," Parvati said, her voice thick and wooly from having been woken by Hermione. "Put out the light and go to sleep."
For once, Hermione obeyed her.
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When Hermione was a little girl, before she'd known magic was real, she and her parents had a family joke about unpleasant chores. Her father used to say that even though ignoring a problem often led to a bigger problem, ignoring it was still easier. He called the phenomenon 'Everyday Creep;' that you could just go through your everyday routine and soon enough the would pass and you forgot that inconvenient problem you were trying to ignore anyway. As a dentist, he'd seen the results of that many times a day, so it was important to him to teach Hermione not to fall victim to the Creep. Every so often, though, she found that exact advice to be the unpleasant chore, and that was how Hermione managed to set aside the troubling suspicions about Remus for more than a month.
First Ron had been poisoned, then they had their Apparition test. Throughout the following weeks, Hermione tried to check in with Harry as often as she felt their friendship could stand. She worried about his extra lessons with the headmaster. He often returned looking exhausted and frightened, which seemed backwards to her, given that he always looked confident and happy when he used his dangerous, notation-laden potion book. She knew it was hard on him when she and Ron were fighting, but that didn't look like it was going to be sorted out any time soon.
It seemed like events were beginning to spiral out of control, both at Hogwarts and the magical world at large. Hermione was struggling to keep up. She had begun to plan for the very worst scenarios she could think of, gathering physical supplies in her bottomless bag along with any information she could think of that might be useful. Every time she compiled a list, though, her thoughts were drawn back to Remus. Was she really doing everything she could if she was ignoring the possibilities brought forth from her werewolf research? She just did not know what to do, and no amount of distraction away from the problem seemed to help, not that focusing on it did much good, either. The best option would probably be to bring up her suspicions to a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but she could not picture herself trying to explain any of it to someone like Mad-Eye Moody or Professor McGonagall.
Instead, she'd taken to walking around the grounds in all weather (the colder the better, in fact) to try to organize her thoughts. She usually took a parchment covered with notes to memorize or a written outline to study, spelled weather-proof, of course. Hermione hadn't realized her routine was beginning to be noticed until she heard a voice behind her on a snowy Sunday afternoon.
"Is that a variation on the Impervious charm?" A female voice asked from behind her. The unexpected shock of being spoken to while out walking the grounds made her drop her parchment. Hermione turned to see an older witch with dull brown hair and a thin smile.
"Oh! Tonks! I didn't see you there," Hermione said. "Yes, I modified it to allow me to write on it with a spelled quill, while still protecting against weather damage."
She'd completely forgotten that aurors were stationed at Hogwarts. Given that the other woman's current hair was far from the bright cheerful pink Hermione knew she favored, she realized she may simply have not recognized Tonks around the castle.
Tonks cast Accio on the fallen page just as Hermione reached down to pick it up, causing her to flush a little. It still seemed wasteful to use magic on something so simple, but she figured it was probably just a matter of upbringing. Hermione flushed deeper as she saw the older witch reading the parchment she'd brought on today's walk. It was the one about werewolf soulmates.
"I thought I might be able to help Professor Lupin, if I researched aspects of werewolf culture," Hermione explained quickly. "This is only one page out of-"
"I'm the last to judge someone for reading up on Remus," Tonks said in an odd tone of voice, as though to reassure Hermione. She seemed to wilt a bit the more she read, however. Hermione felt like she needed to justify herself, as though she were trespassing on someone else's territory.
"He's a good person, and I wanted to help, somehow. Research is pretty much all I can do from here. It might not be much, but I have that page and two others, here." Hermione dug out her DADA textbook from her shoulder bag and retrieved the other two pages of notes. She felt a vindictive sort of satisfaction in keeping them in that book in particular, given who now taught that subject. "The other two are written in suggestion form, that one was me taking notes as I read." Hermione cast the weatherproof charm she'd devised and handed the additional pages to Tonks.
"Think you could teach me that charm? Do me a world of good, that," Tonks asked. After a few more seconds of reading, she added, "These are good, Hermione."
"Thank you!" Hermione smiled. "I actually hadn't thought of how to get them to him, though."
At this, Tonks visibly brightened. "If you'll trust me with them, I'll pass them on. I can't say exactly when, though." She winked, and Hermione nodded in understanding. Even in a protected area like Hogwarts, anyone could be listening. An awkward few seconds passed, during which Hermione's anxiety about the vast difference in tone between her initial outlines and her soulmate notations grew. She had the feeling that Tonks had more than a casual interest in her research, and Hermione felt a compulsion to reassure her.
"I thought that the whole soulmate thing was complete nonsense at first," she confessed, "and I've changed my mind thanks to some of the information I've found-but soulmates themselves are so rare that I'm not sure any of it will matter for the Order."
"Can't imagine Greyback has one," Tonks said, shivering a little.
"If he did, would that mean he could have been meaner than he is now?" Hermione asked."
"Merlin forbid," Tonks said, her eyes turning even more somber. "No soulmate for Remus, then," she added, gesturing to a bullet point on the page. The accompanying smile didn't reach her eyes.
"It seems he'd already know about them, yeah. Remus could have had a soulmate who lived in the third century or something like that, though," Hermione told her. "It looks like every werewolf has one, but most don't happen to live in the same place or time. There's nothing in the research that says a werewolf without a soulmate suffers any ill effects unless they've connected with them and then loses them somehow after that." She couldn't help but notice that Tonks' whole demeanor changed at this. She looked like a weight had just been lifted from her mind. Without thinking, Hermione commented on what she saw as a tacit admission from Tonks.
"I don't mean to presume," she started to say, but the auror waved a hand to stop her, and subsequently dropped one of the pages.
"Just looking at Remus sideways is presuming," Tonks muttered under her breath as she reached down to pick it up. The action, so different from her earlier spellcasting, seemed clearly meant to mask her frustration. Tonks straightened, holding up the completely dry page and smiling. She gave it a little shake to show that the snow it had landed in hadn't clung to it at all. "Quality spellwork!"
Hermione took both the hint and the compliment with grace, and bade her a good evening. As she made her way back to Gryffindor Tower, she thought about Tonks and what she suspected was an attraction to Lupin. Did it matter, really, if Hermione's wild hypothesis about being his soulmate was correct if the result hurt two good people in the process? She personally liked Remus, saw him as an intelligent, good man, but Tonks seemed to be far more attached than she was. Besides, most werewolves never met their soulmates and were never affected by that loss, as far as her research had shown.
She paused at the bottom of the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Would she be able to successfully mask her scent from him? There would be no second chances; if he could sense her, he would know. All three books with in-depth soulmate analysis had been crystal clear about one thing: a werewolf who was aware of his or her soulmate needed that person in their life. There was a very popular, fairly bleak folk story about a werewolf kept from his mate-Disney had even made a film about it in the 1980s. Hermione didn't want to cause trouble; she was legally only 17, despite all the extra time she'd added to her life via the time turner, and Remus was probably close to 40. How much chaos and confusion would it cause if, in the course of fighting off the most evil wizard in generations, and while he was foregoing Wolfsbane as a spy against that wizard, his destiny popped up out of nowhere as a school-aged witch!
No she reasoned, better to devise a simple (or not so simple) masking spell, and keep everything and everyone safe. Besides, she reminded herself, he would have figured it out when you were his student! You're just taking extra precautions, that's all.
Satisfied with the reasonableness of her decision, Hermione started up the stairs to her dormitory, her mind humming with possible avenues to alter her body's chemistry just enough to avoid total pandemonium.
